Veteran sports writer Jim Utter covers NASCAR for The Charlotte Observer and its racing site, ThatsRacin.com. In this space, Jim writes about all things NASCAR and other forms of racing which may also be relevant ... or not.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

It's raining at Daytona

It's approximately 90 minutes before the green flag is scheduled to drop on the Daytona 500 and right now the only thing dropping is rain.

That's no surprise. It's been predicted for a while and, say what you will about weather forecasters, but they got it right this time.

The question is when will it stop raining. It will eventually stop. It always has.

NASCAR will do its best to get its biggest race in today, studying radar images in NASA-like detail, looking for a window to get in at least 100 laps (250 miles). With lights at Daytona, no one's going anywhere for a while.

At the moment, ponchos are obscuring the multi-colored t-shirts so popular among race fans and there are tarps over the set that rocker Lenny Kravitz is scheduled to use for his pre-race concerts. Kravitz did stop into the infield media center earlier for a quick question-and-answer session and said he's pulling for Danica Patrick today.

Wearing a heavy jacket, a brown scarf around his neck and Tom Cruise/Top Gun-style shades, Kravitz looked like he was ready for a winter walk in Paris rather than the infield at a stock car race.

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney stopped by to campaign today and, at the drivers meeting, said the Daytona 500 combines "two of the things I like best -- cars and sports."

While Romney showed up in person, Rick Santorum's name showed up on the side of Tony Raines' race car. The Florida primary has come and gone but the campaign continues.